Many organizations desire to have greater accountability. Let’s look at how leaders let people off the hook and some solutions to get people to take greater ownership in your organization.

Culture is the fabric of your organization

Before we talk about building greater accountability into your culture, let’s make sure we are on the same page in regards to culture itself. While there are a few interpretations, culture defines what it takes to “fit in” at your company. You can have an easy going culture, a highly disciplined culture, a culture of innovation and creativity, a culture where results are everything, a culture of caring and a culture where people are accountable. Most company cultures are a blend of characteristics.

Consequences can be both good and bad

Most of us consider consequences as a negative term. If we broaden our perspective so that a consequence is simply what follows an action, behaviour or result, then we can acknowledge that there are positive consequences and negative consequences. When we talk about accountability, we need to embrace the idea that people must receive the positive or corrective consequences of their actions and results.

The beliefs of the manager influence outcomes

If the manager believes that employees are not capable of taking on greater responsibility or cannot be trusted then he or she will treat them accordingly. Managers who have positive expectations of excellence will be rewarded with better performing employees.

How leaders let people of the hook, and how they can create an accountable culture

• Lack of goals: Without a clear target it becomes subjective to determine whether performance has occurred. Clarify goals that motivate people to achieve excellence.
• Murky expectations: Unclear, poorly communicated or poorly understood expectations yield murky results. Ensure your team understands your expectations clearly.
• Taking ownership away from the employee: Managers who say, “Let me take care of that,” or, “Do it this way,” or who always solve problems for their employees take the accountability back on themselves. Grow your team by challenging them to develop solutions.
• Encouraging and accepting excuses: There will always be a reason why an action is not taken, why a behaviour occurred or why results were below expectation. At the end of the day, the individual is still accountable. We are not suggesting that leaders become unreasonably tough. Simply, a culture that encourages or accepts excuses will have trouble becoming accountable.
• Lack of measurement and feedback: Having a consistent measurement process and providing positive and corrective feedback are key elements of increasing accountability.

Increasing accountability takes time and determination

Modifying and organization's culture is a medium to long term commitment. While most employees and managers look forward to greater accountability, there is still a transition process as all levels. Individuals need to unlearn some existing behaviours and replace them with behaviours that support accountability.

A blend of group training and development coupled with individual or group coaching is recommended to achieve the best results.

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If you want to explore ideas on making your company culture more accountable, give us a call at (866)700-9043, (519)685-2116 or email info@uniquedevelopment.com.